Broken Like An Angel
by EilayAdnayVolieay
Summary: Rinoa Heartilly was trapped in the Sorceress Memorial to protect the world; there she remained, frozen in eternal sleep, until a history class from Balamb Garden arrived and she awakened, stumbling into one Squall Leonhart's arms. R&R Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

**A/N**: So I had this idea just . . . randomly come to me the other day and I knew I had to write it down before I forgot. This is absolute torture having so many story ideas for Final Fantasy VIII come to mind and being unable to publish them all at once. I can't. I don't know how long I'll last not posting them, but we'll find out soon enough (you'll know if you see this on the site before I have at least Addicted finished.) Soo yes. Here is a new story from me =)

**Edit**: Turns out, I didn't last at all. Ahh, well. You won't hate me for it... right?

**Disclaimer**: Final Fantasy VIII belongs to SquareSoft/Enix, not me.

**Full Summary**: Rinoa Heartilly was trapped in the Sorceress Memorial, believed to be the Sorceress the cause of the latest war of her time. She was unable to free herself from the eternal sleep she was doomed to face — until one day, a history class visits the memorial, and she awakens from her slumber. Dizzy and confused, she stumbles directly into Squall Leonhart's arms and passes out. She is passed off as a new student at Balamb Garden, and struggles to fit in this futuristic world she knows nothing about. Yet the problems she faced in her own time are not gone, and she finds herself being an instrument of evil once more. Can her new friends save her? Will they even want to, after they learn who she is?

**Broken Like An Angel**

_EilayAdnayVolieay_

Chapter One - Prologue

My name is Rinoa Heartilly. When I was five years old, an elderly woman came up to me and told me that I would die on my sixth birthday. My father was furious that she would say such a thing to me when I was just a little kid. I didn't really understand what she was saying, anyway. My mother, however, did, and she grew instantly overprotective of me. It was as if there was something about me that she knew, that I somehow didn't.

Finally my sixth birthday arrived. My mother seemed particularly on edge on this day, though I had forgotten entirely about the old woman's prediction. Perhaps if I had remembered, I would have understood.

She was driving me back home, to where we were to celebrate my "surprise birthday party." It certainly was a surprise — when I was brought home by the police, who told my father that my mother had been impaled by another vehicle. How I had escaped unscathed was a complete mystery. If my mother hadn't died, she would have told me how I survived — told me what I was.

—

Around my fifteenth birthday, I began realizing that something was very different. About me, about the things I saw, heard, and could do. In school, we were taught that magic was forbidden — which meant I had to hide the fact that I had magical capabilities. If they knew, I'd face a much worse consequence than simply being expelled.

And then, the dreams came. Horrible images of death and brutal killings, which would have been frightening enough if it hadn't been me committing these horrible deeds. Why? My face was always so blank, yet the smile on my face so chilling to watch. At first, I thought they were just dreams — until I started blacking out.

I would black out for long periods of time, and when I came back to consciousness, I wouldn't recall how I got to where I was. I'd hear thoughts in my mind that didn't seem to belong to me, even though I knew they must. I felt violated — as if my most precious sanctuary had been broken into.

It was when I turned sixteen that things took a turn for the worse. A student was murdered, and rumours of a new and evil Sorceress on the horizon were spread around the country. I was as terrified as everyone else was. Mainly because I knew I would be even more under suspicion if my use of magic was discovered; but also because I knew that a Sorceress would not want competition. I would be a threat, even if I didn't want to be.

My blackouts continued. I began finding myself able to use my magic for much more powerful spells that I had never been able to accomplish on my own before.

That was when I first heard her speak to me. Not placing thoughts into my subconscious, not leading me to believe anything. Her voice was strong and clear in my mind. She was there . . . and she was using me.

My name is Rinoa Heartilly, and I was once an instrument of evil to the Sorceress from the future Ultimecia.

Where am I now, you ask? Well, that's a much longer story.

**A/N**: Very, very short prologue. That I realize. I'm really... I don't know... excited about this story. I have a lot planned for it. And upon finishing this first prologue chapter, I realize that unlike the other new stories that I have planned — some with several chapters already completed — I CANNOT WAIT to upload this one. So, I'm breaking my vow not to start a new story until Addicted is done. I know, I know... I'm horrible. But maybe you'll read this story, and decide you like it. The first chapter probably isn't enough to really tell if you will. But, maybe the summary? I'll try and update my other stories soon. I think I just... need to get some sort of chapter of SOMETHING out to get back into the mood of writing. Maybe this story is the cure to my writers block. R&R!


	2. Awakening

**A/N**: The reception for the last chapter seemed really good, which is . . . uh, good? Haha. Anyway, I wanted to get a start on the next chapter since the last one was so short (and considering it was so short, I was surprised at the amount of interest already shown!) Anyway, here's the next chapter and thanks to everyone who reviewed/favourite the story so far.

**Disclaimer**: Final Fantasy VIII belongs to SquareSoft/Enix, not me.

**Broken Like An Angel**

_EilayAdnayVolieay_

Chapter Two - Awakening

"Now I want you ALL to be on your best behaviour. As you all know, for many years this place was not open to any visitors. Very recently, when there seemed to be no threat of another Sorceress on the horizon, the Esthar government opened the doors to the Sorceress Memorial. We are one of the _first outsiders _to be permitted inside. Please don't make them regret allowing us here!" Quistis said to her class. There was the odd grumbling in the crowd of students but most remained silent.

"Yo, Squall — isn't this amazing? Man, just LOOK at this place!" Zell Dincht, an overeager martial art's specialist student, exclaimed. Squall rolled his eyes. The place wasn't _that _interesting. Why did he want to know about past sorceresses? The only ones that mattered were the ones he might have to face when he finally became a SeeD.

"Try not to wet yourself, Dincht. We're a _long _way from Balamb." Squall's eyes narrowed as his rival, Seifer Almasy, stepped forward with a smirk on his face.

"..._THE HELL, MAN?! _You got a problem with me!?" Zell asked, clenching his fists and glaring at Seifer. Squall sighed.

"Leave it alone, Zell." He said, before walking away. If Zell got angry and started fighting Seifer, he didn't want to be around.

The students weren't supposed to wander away from the group, but Squall found himself unable to stop. The place was more interesting than he had originally expected, even if he hated to admit it. It was eerie, thinking that there were several Sorceresses trapped in eternal sleep. If the Esthar technology hadn't been as good as it was, they would have all been in a _lot _of trouble.

Squall froze as he heard footsteps from somewhere around him. Was his absence noticed by their instructor? If so, she'd be furious at him for wandering away from the class.

He came up to one of the memorials and saw that it was empty; there was no Sorceress there. Confused, he looked down at the engraved plaque in front of it.

_Here lies a descendant of Hyne, who willingly came to the memorial to save herself from the evil powers coursing through her body. She was the last Sorceress to be brought here, reinforcing the theory that Sorceresses are direct descendants from Hyne and can only be created from the present Sorceress passing on her powers. Any others that have existed have never been found._

Squall frowned and read the plaque over again, repeatedly. A Sorceress that had turned herself in? That seemed . . . very strange. Never in all of his lessons at Balamb Garden had he ever heard of such a Sorceress existing. They never discussed the last known Sorceress, and the plaque mentioned no name like the others. Why? Did they believe that since this Sorceress had turned herself in, she deserved that privacy? _I wonder if any of the Instructors at Garden have even heard of this. It seems odd they wouldn't teach us it if they did. _

He heard the footsteps and turned around, looking for the source of them. They grew muffled; then stopped completely.

"Hello?" He called out — feeling a little stupid as he did so.

It was then that he saw her. A young girl dressed in blue was stumbling through the halls. She was very wobbly on her feet and Squall took a step forward. All the colour was completely drained from her face.

"Yo, Squall! Where have you been? Man, Instructor Trepe asked where you were and I had to say you went looking for the washr— _ohhhh_ . . . " Zell stopped next to Squall and acknowledged the girl stumbling in front of them. "You were meeting your girlfriend. Gee, I ah, didn't know you were the romantic type. Whoa . . . is she okay?" Zell asked, as she suddenly closed her eyes and began falling forward. Squall quickly moved in front of her and caught her before she hit the ground.

—

"She's not a part of this class, Zell. What do you want me to do? She's probably from here, we can't take her all the way back to Balamb with us." Quistis explained, taking her glasses off and cleaning them.

Squall had told Zell to go find their Instructor while he watched the girl he now held in his arms. It was more than a little awkward, particularly when the other students stared. _I should have just let her hit the ground. _Squall thought bitterly. The last thing he needed was another "Zell" going on about his new girlfriend and how cute she apparently was. _Whatever. _

"I know, Instructor, but she's out cold and there's no one else but us here!" That was the odd part of this whole arrangement. They had received an invitation to come to the Sorceress Memorial, only when they arrived, there was no staff inside. The guards outside of the memorial had left immediately after they arrived.

"Why don't we take her to Esthar?" Squall said after a moment. "We're close enough; we can take her to their hospital and let them sort it out." Quistis nodded, smiling momentarily.

"Fine. We'll do that. It's late, anyway — I doubt we'll make it to Fisherman's Horizon before dark anyway. I suppose we can't continue on the tour, if she's —"

"Instructor, why don't you just send a small group of students back? Esthar's not that far — the monsters are no match for us!" Zell exclaimed, punching at the air.

"Fine. Zell, you and Squall were the ones who found her; you can take her." Quistis examined the other students gathered around her. "Selphie, Seifer;" She called out. The two students looked up at her. "I want you both to accompany Zell and Squall back to Esthar."

"WHAT!?" Seifer shouted. "I have to go with puberty boy over there," he pointed at Squall, who ignored the comment, "—and the chickenwuss?"

"_WHAT DID YOU . . . _" Zell turned red with anger and embarrassment, but their instructor cut him off with an icy glance.

"Of course, should you refuse, I'm sure the Headmaster would love to know why a student training to be a SeeD would pass up an opportunity at training — after all, if you stay here, we'll be taking the bus back to Esthar. With this group, you'll get to walk and battle monsters." Quistis smiled as she saw Seifer give up and turn to the others.

"Whatever. But I am _not _babysitting any of you!" He warned them. Squall rolled his eyes and situated the girl so that she was on his back instead. It would be much easier to carry her that way.

"Hi!" A teenage girl bounced up in front of him, smiling. "I'm Selphie." Squall nodded curtly before continuing to walk. He noticed Selphie throw a confused glance at Zell who shrugged his shoulders. She attempted to introduce herself to Seifer, who didn't even pretend to smile. She glared at him and when his back was turned, stuck her tongue out at him.

"Now, lets get this clear." Seifer said, suddenly stopping in front of them. "I am the leader of this squad —"

"...what squad?" Zell whispered, causing Selphie to giggle. Seifer threw an annoyed glare in his direction.

"— and I'll lead the way. If anyone has any problems, they can make it to Esthar City on their own." He grinned at Squall, waiting for him to object. When he didn't, Seifer started leading them towards the city.

_...this is going to be a long trip._

—

"_If you see this young girl, please do not be fooled by her appearance. Rinoa Heartilly is in fact a dangerous Sorceress among us and must be stopped before she is lost in her desire for power. Do not attempt to go near her, but please report any appearances to the officials. Remember never to travel alone, and be sure that young children are kept inside at all times." _

_Rinoa frowned and turned off the radio, burying her face in her hands. What was she going to do? Everyone thought she was a monster . . . all because of _her. _The Sorceress Ultimecia._

_It had started out as nothing more than a quiet humming in the back of her mind. The blackouts had prevented her from realizing what Ultimecia had been doing while Rinoa was unaware. Eventually, Rinoa was able to control the blackouts and prevent them from happening. That was when she realized she was being controlled. _

"Who are you?" _She had thought. The voice in her mind answered, sounding amused. _

"Names are not important."

"Why are you doing this?" _She heard high pitched laughter in her head and cringed. _

"The question is, why aren't _you?_ You're a Sorceress — you might try acting like one!"

_That had been the end of all conversations that night between the two — and, despite her best efforts, Rinoa was unable to regain control over her body's actions while this other voice — this Ultimecia — was awake in her mind. _

_Rinoa found herself raising her hand and muttering words she did not understand, before opening her eyes and seeing she had been transported out of Deling to a small town protected by soldiers. _

"Why are we here?" _Rinoa asked in her head. The other voice, though she knew it was there, ignored her. It guided Rinoa forward into the town._

"_Halt!" One of the guards cried. "This town is not open to any visitors — please, leave." Rinoa felt the corners of her mouth lifting up into a smirk, and her eyes narrow. _

"_Come now," She said in a voice that sounded much more melodic than her own. "Surely you wouldn't turn away a poor, lost young girl? I'm only looking for somewhere to stay for the night — it's dangerous out." The guard seemed to be thinking over what she had said. Rinoa tried to open her mouth and form her own words, tell him not to listen . . . but even if she had been successful, he would have thought her insane and sent her to the nearest hospital. _

"_I suppose it would be . . . fine. For now. But you have to talk to the mayor of our town first thing in the morning. Come on, I'm sure the hotel will have a room for you . . . they haven't had any business since this whole Sorceress business started up again . . . "_

_That had been the town of Winhill's first mistake. _

**A/N**: So the end of this chapter was just sort of . . . Rinoa's current state. She's remembering all of this while Squall and the others are taking her to Esthar, annnnd I realize Ultimecia's speech probably isn't typed the way she actually . . . talked . . . but I haven't played the end of the game for awhile (heh, for those who read Addicted and saw my authors note where I still hadn't finished the game — yes, I have now.) And didn't feel like looking up the end of the game script to do it. So lets just say, for the sake of this story, Ultimecia talks a lot more normally at this stage because she hasn't completely lost her mind yet. And when it wasn't in italics, that was Rinoa and Ultimecia conversing in her head. I tried to make that clear, but just in case there was confusion . . .

Also, to clear up some confusion — Rinoa is basically replacing Adel. As far as I know (at this point), Adel will not be mentioned in this story. Instead, Rinoa will be the Sorceress that was around that time, and events will . . . progress from there. I have to be careful of my phrasing to prevent myself from giving too much away, hehe.


	3. My Name Is Rinoa

**A/N**: So, as you can probably tell, I am having quite a lot of fun working on this story. It is a combination of two fanfiction ideas I have had — the first part being of course Rinoa being a Sorceress from seventeen (give or take a few years) previous to the present time she wakes up in, and how Squall mysteriously is the answer to her awakening. The second part has not yet been revealed, and will probably unravel more so some point after returning to Balamb Garden — which will possibly be awhile. This fanfiction may even combine a total of three ideas, but I haven't decided yet if that would be wise or not. (It could make it too complex or cluttered, and I want it enjoyable above all.) So, yeah, I'm working on this so that it will hopefully, randomly, spark up some new idea for my other FFVIII fanfictions that I have a minor block on. Plus, its just plain fun to write.

**Disclaimer**: Final Fantasy VIII belongs to SquareSoft/Enix, not me.

**Broken Like An Angel**

_EilayAdnayVolieay_

Chapter Three - My Name Is Rinoa

"Are we there yet?" Selphie asked, stopping in her tracks and looking around. They seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, and Squall was pretty sure Seifer had gotten them lost. _How he managed that when we could actually see the city before... _

"I SAID NO! _Do you see Esthar? _Does this look like the technologically advanced city of Esthar to you?" Seifer asked, shouting. Selphie cringed and hid behind Zell.

"...Seifer, yelling isn't going to get us there." Squall said tiredly, setting the girl down on the ground gently. When they had left the Sorceress Memorial, Seifer had pointed to the large city of Esthar from across the small section of the ocean between the two land masses, and said he knew the way.

That had been approximately two hours ago, and though they knew there would be a point without seeing the city while they traveled, it seemed as though they should be nearly there.

"Look!" Selphie said, pointing into the distance. Squall turned and saw a building with a large vehicle parked outside of it. Zell seemed to have noticed this to, and punched the air excitedly.

"Yeah! We can go there and ask for directions!" Zell exclaimed. _Thank you, oh intelligent Zell, for pointing out the obvious. _Squall thought annoyed.

"Or we can ask for a ride." Squall replied, before bending down to pick up the girl again. Seifer raised an eyebrow at this and grinned at him.

"You sure you don't know this chick, Squall? You seem pretty attached." Squall glared at him.

"If you want to carry her, you're more than welcome." He replied icily, putting the girl down and walking away. She wasn't his responsibility and he was tired of all the remarks he had to endure the entire trip up to this point. Normally, he would ignore what others said, but it had been a long, strange day, and he was tired of wandering around the Esthar continent.

Seifer walked past him without another word, but he wasn't carrying the girl. Squall slowed down and turned to make sure Seifer hadn't intended on leaving her — and saw Selphie helping Zell situate the girl on his back. _Good. Now, they have no reason to talk to me..._

"Squall! Were you really going to let Seifer carry her?" Selphie protested, as she ran up beside him. He rolled his eyes in response. "He's so _mean!" _

"She's unconscious; how would she know?" Squall muttered. Selphie either didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him, running back to make sure that Zell didn't do something "mean" and drop the girl. Whatever.

When they got to the building, they saw a large sign that said "Doctor Odine's Research Facility." Odine? As in...

"ODINE!? He's the one who makes all those cool inventions — even SeeD use some of them! This is _the _Doctor Odine's Lab? Ohh, no way!" Zell exclaimed. He picked up the pace even with the girl on his back, and they walked up to the door.

"...are we supposed to knock or something?" Seifer asked, looking around. "This ain't no regular building." His question was answered for them as a camera turned to lock onto them, and a voice came out over an intercom.

"Who iz there? This iz not a tourist attraction! Vat do you vant?"

"Is this Doctor Odine?" Squall asked, when no one else spoke.

"Yes it iz."

"We're just a little lost and were wondering if you could help us." Squall explained. There was a beeping sound before the door in front of them opened. Squall shrugged and stepped forward into the research facility. They were immediately stopped by a short man wearing the most bizarre clothes Squall had ever seen — even for Esthar.

"Will you go away if I help you?" The man asked — and, judging from his accent, this was quite clearly Odine.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever old man." Seifer replied, waving his hand to dismiss him. Squall sighed as Odine began jumping up and down angrily.

"Who are you calling 'old man'? I'll have you know..."

"Please, Doctor Odine. We're trying to take a —" Squall looked back at the girl Zell was now carrying "— student to Esthar to be checked out at the hospital. We really need to get there as soon as possible." Odine seemed to notice the others for the first time, and walked towards Zell, examining the girl.

"Interesting..." He muttered. "She looks very much like... vat am I saying, it iz impossible." Squall crossed his arms. He didn't care if Doctor Odine was supposed to be some sort of scientific genius — the man was nuts.

"Doctor?" Odine seemed to be broken from his trance in that moment, and gestured for two guards from the other doorway to come over.

"Please escort these young students to ze hospital." He walked away, as if dismissing them, and the guards all but shooed the group out of the building. When Squall turned around, he saw Odine was watching them from a window of the research facility. He frowned, seeing that the mans gaze was still lingering on the girl Zell was now placing in the back of the car the guards were taking them in.

_What's his fascination with her?_

—

_That was the night her nightmares began. She had experienced many vivid nightmares before, but this felt like something more, as if it were a vision she was having. The flowery scent of the air, the bitter cool wind blowing against her face. Was it really only a dream?_

_She looked around, not at all aware of where she was. She was walking up a set of stairs in a house she had never entered before in her life, and walking through the hallways as if she knew the place by heart. She quietly pushed open a door and saw a young girl sleeping on a bed in the room. She felt the corners of her mouth curl upwards in an eerie smile, as she advanced towards the sleeping child._

_"This is the one." She whispered, her voice sleek and much deeper than her own. She knelt down next to the bed, stroking the child's face almost lovingly. Internally, she was struggling to gain control over her body. Dream or not, it was no different than her own harsh reality when the Sorceress tried to control her._

_"Who are you?" Rinoa pulled her hand away quickly — whether it was her own action, or that of the person controlling her, she wasn't entirely sure. All she knew was that the child had opened her eyes and was staring in wonder at her._

_"Ellone?" A voice from the hallway cried. "Who are you ta—" Rinoa muttered an incantation, placing the child into a deep slumber. When the man who had been calling out entered the room, Rinoa raised her hand and in an instant, the man was dead, his body falling to the ground. Rinoa felt a strange surge of satisfaction course through her, a revolting sense of desire for this act of murder._

_"At last, I have found you." She whispered, turning back to the child.—_

_Rinoa's eyes flew open, and she quickly let out a sigh of relief. It had been a dream, a frightening and eerie dream — not reality. She had not killed, whether or not it was against her own free will. She had been sleeping. The sun shone in through the window, and Rinoa remembered quite suddenly that she was still in the small town of Winhill where the Sorceress inside of her had lead her. She couldn't stay here --- of that she was sure._

_When she walked down the stairs to leave, she heard the sound of voices coming from the main front room of the inn. It appeared a bunch of locals had gathered to discuss her sudden, unwelcome appearance in their town._

_"I can't believe you actually brought her here to spend the night!" One older sounding man cried out. Many other voices echoed the same line of thinking, until finally another male whose voice was almost melodic, intervened."Since when have we turned our backs on people who needed our help? A young girl, probably not even a legal adult yet, stumbles across our town. What are you people afraid of? That she's the Sorceress we've heard rumors about? That she might be a spy for this Sorceress? She's just a girl, nothing more! She spent the night, and did anything happen?" He paused, waiting for their response. When nothing was said, the man continued._

_"If she chooses to leave, so be it, but we can't kick her out of our town when she has done nothing wrong."_

_Rinoa heard the sounds of chairs scraping against the wooden floor as the group that had gathered (possibly to ambush her when she woke) began to leak out of the inn. When she was sure that mostly everyone was gone, she walked down the stairs pretending to have heard nothing._

_The Inn was now entirely empty, except for one lone woman standing behind a desk at the front._

_"Excuse me?" Rinoa called, walking up to the front desk. The woman stared at her, seeming frightened at first, but then smiling warmly. "I wanted to thank you for allowing me to spend the night, and ask what the cost of the room is." She pulled out money, but the woman pushed it back at her._

_"It's not too often we get visitors." The woman commented. "You keep your money — it's on the house."_

_"Oh, but that's just more reason for me to pay! If you don't get many visitors, how can you make any money?" Despite her best efforts, the woman still continually refused to accept Rinoa's money. Sighing in defeat, Rinoa decided it was time to get out of this town before she caused it any harm. _

_Outside of the Inn was completely dead — though she knew the town to be small, Rinoa wondered if perhaps the lack of people meant that she had intimidated them to stay away. She walked down along the dirt path back into the main center of the town, but stopped when she heard the sound of someone crying for help. Immediately Rinoa followed the sound of the voice, and saw two boys surrounding another child._

_"You think you're special because of your dreams!" one boy shouted, sneering. The little girl began crying, and shouting that it wasn't true._

_"Shut up!" The other boy screamed. "You showed me… you showed me sad things. LIES!" He added, slapping her. Rinoa ran forward and grabbed the two boys by their shirts, pulling them away._

_"What do you think you're doing to that poor little girl?" She cried, moving them as far away as possible. The one boy spat at her, but she ignored it._

_"She showed me… she showed me my dad. My dad just before he died!" The second boy shouted, suddenly beginning to cry. Rinoa put them down and knelt in front of them._

_"Maybe it was an accident." Rinoa said calmly. "Or maybe she couldn't stand to see you so sad, that she wanted to show you your dad again."_

_"It's true! I can't control it, I didn't know… I didn't know it would be just before he died, I tried to find a happy memory to show you but I…" The little girl stopped, and the two boys stared guiltily at the ground._

_"If you apologize to her, I bet she won't tell on you and you won't have to get in trouble." Rinoa told them. The two boys walked up to the girl, and apologized quietly before running away. Rinoa stared after them for awhile before turning to look at the little girl who was still sitting on the ground crying._

_"What do they mean, you showed them things?" Rinoa asked, suddenly very intrigued by this child. She felt something within her awaken, and was immediately aware of the second presence in her body. The little girl grabbed her hand._

_"Let me show you."_

_—_

"Does anybody else find this whole place a little… weird?" Zell asked in a hushed voice, not wanting the driver to hear. Squall shrugged, not really caring much about it. He looked outside the window and saw the city getting closer and closer the longer they drove. Everything about this city was high tech and strange. The buildings were made out of a strange glass, and oddly designed. The funny clothes the locals wore were colourful and flashy, to say the least.

They had not in fact been permitted within the city of Esthar when they originally made it to this continent. The city was not closed off to outsiders, but their instructor had told them it was best to avoid going to a strange city and getting lost. Esthar was the largest city Squall had ever seen, and he had been to many of them in his past. It wasn't hard to see why Instructor Trepe had worried about them getting lost. _Though she didn't seem to be concerned about that when she sent us here_, he thought momentarily.

"WOW! Look at this place!" Selphie exclaimed, sticking her head out the window. They were now traveling on a narrow road high above the ground, and Squall felt a little nauseous at the thought of what would happen if someone who wasn't an experienced driver tried driving along it…

Several minutes passed before Squall noticed that the driver was not in fact driving anymore at all. The road beneath them was moving, carrying them to the inner core of the city. _This city_ is _weird_.

It took a few more minutes before the car finally slowed to a stop outside of a purely white building. It was one of the largest buildings they had seen, and it loomed over this part of the city.

"The hospital." Their driver informed them. "This is where you get off." Like we didn't already know that. Squall thought sarcastically. He undid his seatbelt and eased out of the car, more than glad to stretch out his legs. When Zell came out without the girl, Squall sighed and went to grab her, only to see that Seifer was already carrying her into the hospital. _Whatever._

"Does anyone remember Instructor Trepe telling us what to do after we drop this girl off at the hospital?" Selphie asked suddenly. Squall frowned, thinking back to when they had still been at the Sorceress memorial. He didn't recall anything their instructor had said to them specifically aside from bringing the girl to the hospital in Esthar.

"Let's just stay here and wait. Our class has to come here anyway for the night — there's no way we'll make it back to Fisherman's Horizon before night falls." Squall said finally. Selphie smiled and clapped her hands together.

"Great! I want to get to know your _girl_—" One look from Squall was all it took to stop her from saying the rest.

—

It had been about an hour since they had dropped the girl off at the hospital. The staff had been aggravated at them expecting the girl to just be admitted without any medical background, but they ended up taking her in when they found out they were a part of Garden.

So far, Zell had managed to annoy Seifer to the point of Seifer leaving to explore Esthar on his own — something he would surely get in trouble for later — and Selphie had squealed endlessly about the adorable babies down in the maternity wing.

Squall managed to tune them out by thinking about other things. Upcoming exams, the essay he had to write about the Sorceress War, anything but the strange girl they had just brought here… _why was she at the memorial? She's not in our class, and we were the only ones there… not even the staff…_

"Do you think Seifer will be okay on his own?" Selphie asked suddenly, breaking into Squall's thoughts. He wasn't one for smiling, but he felt the corners of his mouth jerk up slightly at the thought of Seifer being in some kind of trouble in Esthar.

"He'll be fine." Squall assured her tiredly. Zell stopped punching the air and put his hand on Selphie's shoulder.

"You're kidding, right? Don't tell me you're worried about the jerk?" Selphie shook her head, making a face.

"Definitely not! But we might get in trouble with Instructor Trepe for him going off on his own…" She trailed off. She looked at Squall hopefully and he sighed.

"Go after him if you want. I'm not your leader." He said finally. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"MEANIE! I don't want to go after him — he'd probably yell at me." She added. Squall rolled his eyes and leaned forward, staring at the ground. Why did he have to get stuck with people he didn't know, didn't _CARE_ to know, and stuck sitting at a hospital when he could be with the rest of his class…

"I know that look." A female voice said suddenly. "Right now, Squall is probably mentally complaining about his situation, because he'd rather talk to himself than to any of his classmates." Squall looked up to see their Instructor smiling down at him, her arms folded across her chest.

"Whate—"

"—_ver_." She started to laugh, but seemed to compose herself after a few short moments. "Your assignment — to deliver our unconscious stranger to the hospital — is now complete. We have been invited to stay at a local hotel, at the expense of the very kind President, who sympathized with our situation." _Pretty friendly for the President of a country that doesn't like visitors_.

"A hotel?" Zell said, turning to look at their instructor. "SWEET!" At that moment, a doctor walked out of the room they were sitting outside of. Squall turned his head slightly to face the man, who was now looking at their instructor.

"The girl has awakened. She says her name is Rinoa." _Rinoa..._

**A/N**: Okay, I looked up the game script for this one and saw that the only way Ultimecia talked weird was exchanging "c"'s with "k"'s but I looked it up to see how Odine talked. Let me tell you, it's annoying to type how he talks — I always hated him -glares- haha. I think it was that whole... "Fisticuffs" thing that made me hate him. -shudders- I'm sorry but it always, always bugged me xD

And I wanted to apologize for the delay in this update, among other updates I have to make for other stories. I got really busy with school work, but I'm back now and trying to get back into the swing of things. Also, I recently got a new computer that has Microsoft Word instead of Wordperfect (-glares- I HATE IT.) so I'm still getting the hang of it. So far, its being a bitch. Hopefully I finally got this stupid chapter to upload D= In its PROPER format, that is.


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